From the Ground Up
by Elizabeth Ferry

A Home-grown Tradition
of Learning and Giving:
The Co-op Gardens

Gardening provides a lifetime of learning. And so it makes sense that people often garden together, sharing information, the pleasure of companionship, as well as the fruits, flowers, and vegetables that grow to fullness during the growing season.

A new addition to the gardens in 2001: compost bin built by volunteer Stanley Trelewicz.

For nearly 30 years, the Co-op’s Norwich land has provided land to Upper Valley residents who need a place to garden. The Co-op Community Gardens began in 1974, one year after the Co-op purchased the Hazen land on Route 5 in Norwich. Plots were available to members, with the stipulation that they use organic gardening techniques. Margaret Bragg of Hanover remembers having a plot 25 years ago as a newlywed. "It was a welcomed help with our budget, in addition to the pleasure of being outdoors," she recalls.

A front page article in the July-August, 1995 issue of the Co-op News reported on the "Greening of the Community Gardens." "Users of the Community Garden plots at the Co-op’s property in Norwich have to be very dedicated," wrote Betsy Eldredge, a member of the Education Department at the time. "They are battling an invasion of Jerusalem artichokes and unwanted visits of woodchucks, raccoons, and deer. Eight households are using ten of the 24 garden plots."

That year was a turning point for the Community Gardens. Volunteer Dennis Rydjeski dug a well, laid pipe, and installed a hand pump to provide gardeners with an on-site source of water. Students from Hanover’s Richmond School, led by teacher Bill Cogswell, pulled up plastic mulch as their Earth Day contribution to the community. "With water available, a rejuvenated (and biodegradable) mulching system, and a compost pile for gardeners’ use, conditions are improving at the Community Garden," Eldredge concluded.

The yield from this year's Harvest Partners garden: nearly 1,000 pounds!

These improvements were fertile soil, so to speak, for expanded use of the garden. In 1995, Victor Rubdi, Co-op member and AmeriCorps volunteer, organized the Harvest Partners project, with the goal of raising fresh vegetables for local food pantries. The Co-op donated garden space; Victor organized the volunteers. Peter and Geraldine Tailer’s donation of solar panels transformed the water delivery system from hand to solar power. Several local groups, including the Hanover Garden Club, the Anne Slade Frey Charitable Trust, Mascoma Bank, and the Upper Valley Community Foundation made financial contributions. Local farms, including Luna Bleu and Hurricane Flats of South Royalton, Vermont, donated seedlings for transplant. The resulting produce was distributed to LISTEN, The Haven, Headrest, Bugbee Senior Center, Outreach House, and Wilder Community Care. The depth of this community partnership was acknowledged nationally in 1999 when the Harvest Partners garden won an award from the Food Marketing Institute in Washington, D.C.

A cadre of volunteers from Kendal-At-Hanover work in the garden weekly.

At this writing, the Harvest Partners garden has raised 5,000 pounds of organic produce in six summers. All of the Community Garden plots have been rented out to Co-op members for the last three years. Over the years, the Co-op gardens have developed into a homegrown tradition. They serve as a learning laboratory for organic gardening, neighborliness, generosity, and community. What a wonderful harvest and legacy from half an acre of land.

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